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So, it was (is, for the next 15 minutes) my birthday today. And unlike a usual birthday, where I'd go out, meet friends, enjoy some restaurant food, maybe drink up..I spent it at home. Having a lot of thoughts. A lot. If you relate to any of these, do leave a word. It's always nice to have your pretense regarding having a viewership substantiated. A birthday is a day invariably spent in calling people back. By the time I'm done with one call, I usually have 2 missed calls already. And by the time I call them..you get the point. Of course, there is also the routine stuff (like meals) when you don't want to talk, but might still get some calls. And of course, you never know what to do with the real  people all around you, who you tremendously love, but can't shoot up to top priority because they haven't paid to talk to you. If you changed phones and didn't sync contacts, it's extra fun. No, seriously. There were conversations where one half was

The guide is always right. No matter who's mistake it is. The guide does not need to be clear, consistent or correct. They just need to be the guide. It is the PhD scholar's job to keep the lab clean. And remember where everything is kept. Or know what every student is upto. Or conduct practicals and tutorials, usually without much prior notice. Because doesn't everyone likes making a fool of themselves by trying to teach someone else, unprepared? There is only correct way to do research. Innovation is over-rated. And the only correct way to do research is what the guide was taught by their guide. "Your thesis should be a mini-copy of mine" sound familiar? Undergraduates are useless at research. Because every guide likes "obedient" (= mute) students, who needn't know why they're doing what they're doing. Because scientific curiosity is also over-rated. And haven't we all noticed that undergraduates haven't had their scientific c